I thought we were boys.
The Criterion Collection, in case you're unaware, is a pretentious, and delightful, company that brings high quality versions of "important classic and contemporary films" into the loving hands of film geeks worldwide. In the last year, they've expanded into streaming content, releasing around 100 titles on Netflix Instant, a few at a time, and just a handful of titles on Hulu.
In a completely unexpected move (by me, anyway), they've decided to stop streaming films on Netflix, and will exclusively be streaming their content on Hulu's pay version, "Hulu Plus". As of yesterday, they've dumped a full 100 films on their site, with another 700 on the way!
But why Hulu? In their press release, Criterion stated that they've been unsatisfied with Netflix's set-up; specifically citing the lack of a dedicated Criterion section, or even any way to directly search for Criterion titles. It's a valid complaint; I fucking love Netflix, but they aren't exactly user friendly. There have been a few different versions of The Matrix released on DVD, but it's listing on the Netflix Queue doesn't indicate which version you're going to get. I got Silence Of The Lambs in the mail, and not only wasn't it the Criterion version, it was a crappy pan-and-scan edition. The Instant movies are also a crapshoot: You've got some beautiful transfers for a lot of the films, but any of the Starz Play ones (which often aren't labelled) are extremely pixelated and terrible looking.
Small quibbles, but worth noting. I understand Criterion's frustration. But, again. . . Hulu?! Maybe it's just my lack of inexperience with it, but I haven't been terribly impressed by Hulu so far. The ads in the middle of the show are annoying (Which, apparently, you'll still sit through even with the pay service! The caveat is that Criterion movies will only have ads at the beginning of the film). The video quality is "Meh"; the higher end Netflix transfers I've seen are WAY beyond anything I've watched on Hulu. And the interface, other than having a "dedicated Criterion section", isn't any less awkward than Netflix. In fact, I'd say it's even harder to find things!
They're charging $7.99 a month for Hulu Plus, which, when you consider the 800 Criterion movies soon to be at your disposal, doesn't sound too bad. But there are a couple of problems, for me at least. Mainly, that everything else on there is shit. Netflix Instant is a movie service that happens to have some television; Hulu is a television service that incidentally has some movies. And it's not even GOOD television. I mean, I guess it's cool that every episode of Psych is at my fingertips, but since I'm never going to watch that show, it doesn't do me much good. I would be purchasing the service solely for the Criterion movies.
I don't know. Maybe I'll try out the free trial, and get back to you guys with a review. Unless one of you Criterion hounds out there has already taken the plunge?
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